Antoinette Bruno Table of Contents

Letter from the Editors...... 7 Congress Directors/Host Chefs Master of Ceremonies Aaron Sanchez...... 11 Josh DeChellis - BarFry...... 166 Keynote Speaker David Kamp ...... 12 Iacopo Falai - Falai...... 168 Paul Liebrandt - Consulting Chef...... 170 Presenters Ken Oringer - Clio...... 172 Seiji Yamamoto - RyuGin...... 15 Marcus Samuelsson - Aquavit...... 174

Antoinette Bruno CEO & Editor-in-Chief David Burke - davidburke & donatella...... 18 Patricia Yeo - Sapa...... 176 Will Blunt Managing Editor Oriol Balaguer - Oriol Balaguer.Barcelona...... 23 Heather Sperling Editorial David Bouley - Bouley...... 27 Host Chefs Tejal Rao Editorial Wylie Dufresne - wd~50...... 30 Alex Ureña - Ureña...... 178 Erin Hollingsworth Editorial Joël Robuchon - L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon...... 35 Anne Quatrano - Bacchanalia...... 178 Liz Sorrentino Marketing Manager Katie Adams Marketing Associate Bruno Goussault - Cuisine Solutions...... 39 Seamus Mullen - Boqueria...... 182 Richie Adomako Developer / Designer Andoni Luis Aduriz - Mugaritz...... 40 Harrison Mosher - Alta...... 182 Ricardo E Galvez Designer Will Goldfarb - Room 4 Dessert...... 45 Geoffrey Zakarian - Country...... 184 Mec Zilla Designer Jing Cao Programmer Gualtiero Marchesi - Ristorante Gualtiero Marchesi...... 49 Anthony Bombaci - Nana...... 185 Jim Clarke Wine & Spirits Editor Grant Achatz - Alinea...... 53 Pamela Adler Quickmeals Editor Dan Barber - Blue HIll...... 56 Wine Presenters Mackenzie Moore Culinary Ambassador Schuyler Frazier Event Manager Alex Atala - D.O.M...... 61 Scott Mayger - Telepan...... 186 Joe Mikolay Office Office Manager Elena Arzak - Restaurante Arzak...... 64 Fred Dexheimer - T. Edwards Wines...... 186 Moira Campbell Public Relations Shannon Bennett - Vue de monde...... 69 Steve Olson - BAR, LLC...... 186 Alex Magnan-Wheelock Executive Assistant Dani García - Calima...... 73 José Andrés - Café Atlantico...... 76 Congress Demonstration Stage Congress Book Johnny Iuzzini - Jean Georges...... 79 Marc Tell - The Sam Tell Companies...... 187 Erin Hollingsworth Editor Mec Zilla Designer Pichet Ong - P*ONG...... 83 Ricardo E Galvez Cover Design Barton Seaver - Hook...... 86 Culinary Director Antoinette Bruno Photography Peter Pioppo Food Photography Ann Cooper - Berkeley Unified School District...... 87 George Mendes - Consulting Chef...... 187 Gotham Imaging Color Correction Ann Bramson - Artisan...... 91 Art Digital Tech Printing and Production Lisa Queen - Queen Literary Agency...... 91 Index of Recipes...... 190 Alex Stupak - wd~50...... 93 Index of Presenters and Host Chefs ...... 191 Contributors Stephan Pyles - Stephan Pyles...... 97 Richie Adomako, Ricardo E Galvez, Marie Pezik, Bruno Bertin - Cuisine Solutions...... 101 Tejal Rao, Heather Sperling Takashi Yagihashi - Noodles...... 102 Congress Event Fabio Trabocchi - Fiamma...... 106 Michael Cimarusti - Providence...... 108 Event Production Schuyler Frazier Event Production Wizard Studios Shea Gallante - Cru...... 114 Event Manager Matthew Saravay Carmen Titita Degollado - El Bajio...... 119 Production Manager Tina DiMeglio Culinary Director George Mendes Graham Elliot Bowles - Avenues...... 121 Audio Visual Director David Katzive Jordan Kahn - Consulting Chef...... 125 Public Relations Susan Magrino Agency Translation José Andrés, Iacopo Falai, Donald Link - Herbsaint...... 128 Akiko Katayama, Elizabeth Falkner - Citizen Cake...... 132 Tona Palimino, John Scharffenberger - Scharffen Berger...... 133 George Mendes Katsuya Fukushima - Café Atlantico...... 137 Congress Advisory Board Ruben García - Café Atlantico...... 140 Daniel Boulud Anthony Bourdain Zak Pelaccio - Fatty Crab...... 145 Josh DeChellis Wylie Dufresne Albert Trummer - Fraiche...... 147 Iacopo Falai Todd Gray Paul Liebrandt Sam Mason Adam Seger - Nacional 27...... 148 Ken Oringer Lex Poulos Todd Thrasher - The PX...... 151 Marcus Samuelsson Norman Van Aken Dave Wondrich - Spirits Writer for Esquire...... 154 Junior Merino - The Liquid Chef, Inc...... 156 Máximo Tejada - Rayuela...... 158 Jason Kosmas - Employees Only...... 161 Adam Block - Block & Associates, LLC...... 164 Linda Pelaccio - Media Coach...... 165 Published by StarChefs.com, Inc. Copyright © 2007 All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce the book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information: StarChefs.com, 9 East 19th Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10003, 212.966.7575

ISBN: 978-1-60461-282-0 | 5 | American Ingredients, Japanese Technique

David Bouley shares his latest inspiration: Japanese technique. After setting up his test kitchen in New York, Bouley worked closely with Yoshiki Tsuji, of the Japanese culinary school, where he investigated new methods and ingredients that would inform his established style of cooking. While their goal was to apply authentic Japanese techniques to Bouley’s existing cooking methods and then create a new menu for his upcoming restaurants, it evolved into a collaboration between friends and colleagues.

Tsuji and his team came from Japan to work with him in his test kitchen where Bouley uses American ingredients to create an authentically Japanese menu. The two met almost two decades ago when Tsuji worked in New York, and kept in touch. When Tsuji’s father passed away and he took over running the culinary school, he began to invite Bouley to Japan to perform demonstrations in front of his classes.

In his workshop, Bouley demonstrates the classic Japanese technique for making fresh, homemade tofu and garnishing it simply with dashi broth and mushrooms.

Fast Facts Chef Most Admired: Roger Vergé because he has always been so generous with his knowledge and has done a lot to help other chefs in the industry – I hope that one day people will say the same about me.

Favorite, Most Underappreciated Ingredient: Kinome because of the unlimited ways I can use it in my cooking: bread, dessert, chocolate, and more.

Indispensable Kitchen Tool: Rationale Oven.

Favorite Interview Question: I ask them to explain where are they with their cooking skills, what they think is their strongest technique, and what they feel they have truly mastered in the kitchen.

| 28 | Homemade Tofu with Black Truffle Dashi Chef David Bouley of Bouley – New York, NY Adapted by StarChefs.com

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

Tofu: 100 milliliters soy milk 1 egg white 2 drops white soy sauce

Truffle Dashi: 7 parts katsuo and konbu dashi 1 part light-colored soy sauce 1 part mirin Kuzu starch, as needed Truffle paste, to taste

Method:

For the Tofu: Thoroughly mix the soy milk and egg white then strain through a chinois into a small cup. Add the soy sauce, mix well, and steam at 90°C for 14 minutes.

For the Truffle Dashi: Mix the dashi, soy sauce, and mirin and bring to a boil. Add the kuzu starch and stir slowly until the mixture begins to thicken, then incorporate the truffle paste, to taste. Pour on top of the warm Tofu and serve.

| 29 |

Steamed Sea Urchin with Lobster Custard and Fennel Foam Chef Joël Robuchon of L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon – Paris, France Adapted by StarChefs.com Yield: 1 Serving

Ingredients: Method:

Lobster Custard: For the Lobster Custard: 1 egg, beaten Mix the beaten egg with the bouillon and lobster roe. Add the 68 grams lobster bouillon sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Strain through a chinois. 2 grams lobster roe Salt, to taste For the Fennel Foam: Pepper, to taste Sweat the onion, fennel, star anise, and fennel seed and season Sugar, to taste with a dash of salt. Add the Pernod and reduce by half. Add the stock and cream and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes. Fennel Foam: Remove from heat and steep for 30 minutes. Strain and season 325 grams onion, sliced to taste. 500 grams fennel, sliced 8 pieces star anise For the Steamed Sea Urchin: 15 grams fennel seed Clean the shell and fill with 15 grams of the Lobster Custard. Cook 200 grams butter at 185˚ F in a steamer for 10 minutes or until set. Refrigerate 500 grams Pernod until chilled. Top with sea urchin tongue and reheat in steamer 1500 grams fish stock at 230˚ F for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour some of the liquid that has 750 grams cream dissolved from the foam into the shell, then top it off with the stiff Salt, to taste Fennel Foam. White pepper, to taste To Assemble and Serve: Steamed Sea Urchin: Garnish with fennel pollen and chives. 1 sea urchin shell 24 grams sea urchin tongue

To Assemble and Serve: Pinch fennel pollen Pinch chives, finely sliced

| 37 | Peter Pioppo Grant Achatz Alinea | Chicago

Grant Achatz was born in Michigan to restaurateur parents and grandparents. Naturally curious and driven, he could be found in the kitchen by his twelfth birthday and over the following years spent most of his free time there, learning basic skills. Upon graduating from high school, Achatz immediately enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America.

After graduation, Achatz worked at The French Laundry in Napa Valley, thriving in Thomas Keller’s highly creative environment – within two years he was sous chef. After four years with Keller, Achatz decided to broaden his wine knowledge and worked as an assistant winemaker at La Jota Vineyards for a year. In 2001 Achatz accepted the executive chef position at Trio, in Evanston.

Achatz flourished at Trio, garnering accolades including the 2003 James Beard Foundation “Rising Star Chef in America” award and in 2002 was named one of ten Food & Wine “Best New Chefs in America.” Under Achatz’s lead, Trio received four stars from the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Magazine and garnered five stars from the celebratedMobil Travel Guide in 2004. Known worldwide in culinary circles as one of the leaders in the progressive culinary community, Achatz realized a lifelong dream by opening Alinea in Chicago in 2005. Within a year of opening Alinea was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as “Best New Restaurant in America.”

Fast Facts Chef Most Admired: Thomas Keller. Most Indispensable Kitchen Tool: Offset spatula; French knife. I know they’re not exciting, but I couldn’t live without them…they’re truly indispensable. Favorite Restaurant Off the Beaten Path in Chicago: Geja’s, it’s on old-school fondue restaurant. They do it really well: a big menu and a great wine list that’s half-price on Mondays. Favorite Interview Question: I try to scare them away, that’s pretty much the tactic I take. I tell them how little money they’re going to make, what long hours they’re going to work, and how they’re going to lose any social life they may have. I want everyone to have a very clear understanding of what they’re getting into. After this, I ask: “What makes you think you want to work here, as opposed to Trotter’s or The French Laundry?”

| 53 | Heather Sperling Alinea: Crafting the Tasting Menu How do you make a really long, really successful tasting menu? And what makes a tasting menu successful anyway? Grant Achatz shares the philosophy he uses to craft the 27 course tasting menu at Alinea. Taking into account satiation, diversity of ingredients, textures, and bridging the courses using texture, flavor, and wine, Achatz discusses how to create one long, complex and harmonious experience that holds the guest’s interest for 4 hours without overwhelming him.

A tasting menu at Alinea will inevitably see sweet courses peppered throughout the meal. Achatz discusses how small bursts of sugar break up the monotonous nature of flavor but also, on a physiological level, produce bursts of sugar and mental clarity. Within the blocks of the menu – savory, sweet, savory, sweet – there has to be an intelligent interplay – and this is where fruit comes in. Achatz uses a lot of fruit in his savory courses by way of fresh pieces and reductions; he also uses spices like vanilla, which are perceived as sweet. On the Alinea menu, there is currently a block of courses sequenced by flavor profile: beginning with smoked Wagyu, followed immediately by chilled dashi, and finished with a blackberry with cigar and smoked salt. In this sequence, Achatz takes the diner from a completely savory dish to an acidic one, using the dashi’s residual sweetness as a bridge. From here, the diner comfortably transitions into bison coated with granola, which has traces of smokiness from the nuts and grains as well as a fruitiness that carries the blackberry flavor a little farther.

Achatz discusses the challenge of producing 27 different textures and flavors in a single tasting menu, and how he’s overcome this would-be obstacle by thinking about the “back-to-back” textures and flavors of a dish and linking those textures and flavors to a shared component in the next. It’s important, of course, to recognize the courses in front and behind each course, but looking at the courses in blocks of 5 or 6 makes sure they play out. It also allows the sommelier to group courses together and pair the appropriate wine with one “block” of courses. The wine can be used as a tool to alternate, accent or complement a block of sequences -- or, it can act as a counterpoint to aid in a transition. If, for example, there are two courses that don’t necessarily transition well, a glass of wine can do what a course might have done – bridge the courses together.

| 54 | Sweet Potato with Bourbon, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon Fragrance Chef Grant Achatz of Alinea – Chicago, IL Adapted by StarChefs.com

Yield: 8 Servings For the Brown Sugar Candy: Ingredients: Lightly coat a 12-inch by 12-inch tray with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the water into a large saucepan and, using an immersion blender, add the pectin Cinnamon Skewers: until fully incorporated. Next add the granulated sugar and citric acid and 4 10-inch Ceylon cinnamon sticks bring the mixture to boil over high heat. When the mixture boils, blend in the trimoline, glucose, and brown sugar and heat the mixture to 110°C. Tempura Base: 600 grams unbleached all-purpose flour Remove the mixture from heat and pour onto prepared tray. Cool to room 35 grams baking powder temperature, approximately 2 hours. Once firm, spray a French knife with non- 45 grams cornstarch stick cooking spray and cut the candy into ¾-inch squares. Cover the squares with plastic wrap and refrigerate until service. Sweet Potato Gel: 10 gelatin sheets To Assemble and Serve: Cold water Preheat oil to 374ºF in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. In a medium 500 grams sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch wide slices bowl, fold the sparkling water gently into tempura base with a fork. Line a 500 milliliters heavy cream 12-inch by 12-inch tray with a double layer of paper towels. Gently thread a 7.5 grams kosher salt square of Sweet Potato Gel onto the pared-down end of a cinnamon skewer, follow with a square of Bourbon Gel, and finish with a square of Brown Sugar Bourbon Gel: Candy. 600 grams Woodford Reserve Bourbon 6½ grams gellan gum Dredge the squares in flour and tap skewer to remove excess, then dip the skewer into tempura batter so that batter just covers squares. Holding the Brown Sugar Candy: opposite end of the skewer, immediately plunge battered squares into hot oil 500 grams water to cover. When battered end of stick is lightly browned, remove skewer from oil 15 grams yellow pectin and drain on paper towel-lined tray. Season with salt and brown sugar. Ignite 50 grams granulated sugar the cinnamon with a blowtorch and quickly extinguish to produce cinnamon 7.5 grams citric acid smoke. Serve immediately. 50 grams Trimoline 50 grams glucose Featured ingredient: woodford reserve bourbon 500 grams light brown sugar

To Assemble and Serve: 1 Liter canola oil 25 grams sparkling water, preferably highly carbonated 45 grams Tempura Base 8 squares Sweet Potato Gel 8 Cinnamon Skewers 8 squares Bourbon Gel 8 pieces Brown Sugar Candy 250 grams unbleached-all purpose flour 25 grams salt 25 grams brown sugar

Method:

For the Cinnamon Skewers: Using the tip of a paring knife, pierce the cinnamon sticks in several places along the center line lengthwise, and gently break sticks in half. To facilitate skewering, pare down the last two inches of the narrow end of each stick.

For the Tempura Base: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and cornstarch.

For the Sweet Potato Gel: Cover an 8-inch by 12-inch tray with plastic wrap. Submerge the gelatin sheets in cold water for 5 minutes, or until pliable. Gather the gelatin and squeeze out excess water, reserving the gelatin. Bring the sweet potatoes, cream and salt to a simmer in a medium saucepan, and simmer for 30 minutes on low heat. Remove pan from the heat and strain mixture through a chinois, reserving the cream. In a blender, purée the sweet potatoes and 1¼ cups of the reserved cream until completely smooth. Whisk gelatin into the hot purée, then strain mixture through chinois onto prepared plastic-covered tray and chill until firm. Turn the tray out onto a cutting board and remove plastic. Cut gel into ¾-inch squares.

For the Bourbon Gel: Pour the bourbon into a medium saucepan. Using an immersion blender, add the gellan and blend until incorporated. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat. Remove saucepan from the heat, and pour liquid into a 12-inch by 12-inch tray. Cool to room temperature and cut gel into ¾-inch squares. | 55 | Marie Pezik | 92 | Alex Stupak wd~50 | New York City

Alex Stupak has always been drawn to the kitchen. He began his career as a pastry chef at age eleven, selling his homemade confections to fellow classmates. Following his passion, he graduated high school with a Certificate in Culinary Arts and began collecting awards, including placing first at the 1998 VICA USA National Culinary Competition. He enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America, and completed his externship working as garde manger and pastry assistant at Clio in Boston under Chef Ken Oringer.

After graduating from the CIA in 2000, Stupak accepted the roundsman position at the four-star Tru in Chicago, honing his talents in a variety of kitchen roles. After fourteen months in Chicago, Stupak returned to Boston, accepting a position at the Federalist, where he became pastry chef after just one month. The following year he returned to Clio as Pastry Chef. Stupak’s pastries have been recognized as some of the most provocative in the country, creative and balanced. He was named “Best Pastry Chef” by Boston Magazine in 2003. In early 2005, Chef Grant Achatz invited Stupak to help open Alinea. He left Chicago for New York in August of 2006 to assume the pastry chef position at wd~50 in New York. Inspired by new technology, hydrocolloids, and the wonders of the wd~50 test kitchen, Stupak creates desserts that are bold and intelligent with an undeniably strong aesthetic sensibility. He is a 2005 StarChefs.com “Chicago Rising Star.” And he’s only 26.

Fast Facts Chef Most Admired: Wylie Dufresne, while I haven’t worked with him for very long, is a great mentor. He’s been in the game much longer than me, but he doesn’t get tired of experimenting, of coming to work, even after so many years. He’s really motivated and driven to learn and create. Albert Adrià, although I’ve never worked with him, is another. He inspires me - he’s completely self-taught and very technique-driven. He created a new way of making pastry. Favorite Ingredient: Water. It is the starting point for developing all of our recipes. It’s a non-variable and abundant substance in our kitchen. We can make a flavorless substance, then judge texture and appearance. From there, we decide what flavors to add to the technique. Favorite Interview Question: Why are you coming to wd~50? What about pastry do you love? If they say they like cakes and baking, that’s nice, really, but it might not be the best match for what we do here (playing with modified starches and enzymes). What books do you like? What chefs inspire you? Most Indispensable Kitchen Tool: Pacojet; cold freezer; bicycle (adjustable pastry cutter), mini Exacto knives. Favorite Restaurant Off the Beaten In New York: Everybody knows everything in New York. I’ve only been here a year…

Michael Harlan Turkell Fabio Trabocchi Maestro | McLean

Inspired by his father’s love for food, Fabio Trabocchi made trips to the butcher to pick veal or lamb for the family meal when he was only six years old. The butcher would often give his choice an approving wink, but sometimes he would redirect Trabocchi to a better selection. In this way Trabocchi learned to discern good food from bad for the first time.

Trabocchi went on to study at the Istituto Alberghiero Panzini in Senigallia-Marche, where he worked as an apprentice in many of the restaurants in the area. At 16, while still in school, Trabocchi was hired as a pastry chef, and then continued his education at the three-star Michelin restaurant Gualtiero Marchesi. Trabocchi earned the position of sous chef at the Michelin one-star restaurant, Navalge Moena, at the age of 18; he was responsible for the entire kitchen staff and was asked to collaborate with the chef on menu ideas. After two years, Trabocchi was named chef de cuisine at the exclusive club Byblos in Rimini.

Following Byblos, Trabocchi was recruited to open an Italian dinner club in Moscow then moved to Washington DC, where he was chef at Bice Ristorante. After his tenure in Washington DC, he moved to the south of Spain where he opened Bice Ristorante in the five-star Puente Romano Hotel in Marbella. Soon after, he moved to the Park Hyatt Hotel in London to open Grissini restaurant as a sister restaurant to the Grissini in the Grand Hyatt, Hong Kong. From there Trabocchi showcased his evolving style at London’s celebrated Floriana restaurant where he won the “Carlton Award for London’s Best Young Chef” in 1999. The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company offered Trabocchi the chance to design his own kitchen and create the vision and concept for Maestro in Tysons Corner, VA, where he revolutionized Italian cuisine with both an ultra-modern and sophisticated classic menu side by side.

Trabocchi’s food has become a personal interpretation of Italian cooking founded in regional cuisine, intense research of top quality ingredients, and application of modern cooking techniques, vibrant flavors and clean presentations which have made Maestro a four-star restaurant according to The Washington Post over the last four years. He is a 2003 StarChefs.com “Washington, DC Rising Star.” In 2006 Trabocchi was awarded “Best Chef – Mid Atlantic” by the James Beard Foundation and published Cucina of Le Marche. In September of 2007 he begins yet another adventure in a new city, working as executive chef at Fiamma in New York.

Freed Photography | 106 | Parmigiano Reggiano Ice Cream with Prosciutto di Parma Tuile Chef Fabio Trabocchi of Maestro – Washington, DC Adapted by StarChefs.com

Ingredients:

Parmigiano Reggiano Ice Cream: 750 milliliters milk 50 milliliters cream 200 grams glucose syrup 20 grams Trimoline 200 grams Parmigiano Reggiano, grated 100 grams milk powder 10 grams ice cream stabilizer Salt

Prosciutto di Parma Tuile: 200 grams sugar 400 grams water 4 very thin slices Prosciutto di Parma

To Serve: Herb oil Parmigiano Reggiano shavings Fleur de sel

Method:

For the Parmigiano Reggiano Ice Cream: Bring the milk, cream, glucose, Trimoline and Parmigiano Reggiano to a simmer while whisking. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to infuse for 30 minutes. Strain the liquid into another pot and add the milk powder over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer then add the stabilizer. Remove from the heat, season with salt, strain through a chinois, and chill. Place in a Pacojet canister and freeze overnight. Churn 1-2 hours before using. Heat the milk, cream, glucose, trimoline and Parmigiano Reggiano to a simmer while whisking. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to infuse for 30 minutes. Strain the liquid into another pot and add in the milk powder over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then add the stabilizer. Remove from the heat, season with salt, strain through a chinois and chill. Place in a Pacojet canister and freeze. Process 1-2 hours before using.

For the Prosciutto di Parma Tuile: Preheat the oven to 250°C. Dissolve the sugar in the water over medium Tejal Rao heat then remove from heat. When the syrup is warm but not hot, dip the Prosciutto di Parma and place on a silpat-lined sheet pan. Place another silpat on top and another sheet pan on top of that and bake until dehydrated Fast Facts and crisp. Remove the top silpat and sheet pan and gently peel off the tuiles, being careful not to break them. Chef Most Admired: Thomas Keller, because his product is always outstanding. To Serve: Quenelle the ice cream onto a plate and finish it with shards of tuile, herb oil, Favorite, Most Underappreciated Ingredient: Salt - you can’t Parmigiano Reggiano, and fleur de sel. do without it. featured ingredients: prosciutto di parma, parmigiano reggiano featured equipment: pacojet, spring induction, spring cookware, Most Indispensable Kitchen Tool: Cast iron skillet, because it’s oneida dinnerware & flatware reliable, and carries a sense of history with it.

Italian Cuisine: Tradition and Evolution For Fabio Trabocchi, Italy’s cuisine is inextricably intertwined with its culture and place. Born and raised in Italy and later transplanted to the United States, Trabocchi’s kitchen evolved into a place to study regional Italian cooking and reinterpret classic dishes in a fine dining context. Rather than merely deconstruct and reconstruct familiar dishes, Trabocchi layers flavors, textures, and, resultingly, meanings onto the dishes he creates. Trabocchi shares his culinary philosophy through the lens of two ingredients he calls “the pillars of Italian cuisine.” Parmigiano Reggiano dates back nine centuries to a small area of northern Italy. The 85-pound wheels are still made from unpasteurized cow’s milk and aged for about 2 years. The character of the cheese reflects the season of its making, turning a pale yellow with herbaceous notes in spring and carrying exotic fruit and pineapple flavors in winter. Prosciutto di Parma is another simple product whose unique flavor reflects a precise aging method. In his Tradition and Evolution workshop, Trabocchi uses the products to explore the concept of Italian cuisine while respecting tradition.

| 107 | Josh DeChellis BarFry | New York City

Born in Bogota, Colombia and raised in Clinton, New Jersey, Chef Josh DeChellis is an unlikely standard bearer for traditional Japanese cuisine. But his inspired use of Japanese ingredients is leaving an indelible impression on the New York dining scene.

At 14, Josh began working at a local restaurant to earn money for a new snowboard. The unconventional lifestyle of the chef immediately attracted him to the profession, as did the pleasure of seeing good food delight guests. Over the objections of his parents, Josh followed his passion and entered the esteemed Culinary Institute of America in 1992. After graduation, he began his professional career as a chef de partie working at the Frenchtown Inn in Frenchtown, New Jersey. He then landed a position in San Francisco as sous chef at Wolfgang Puck’s famous Postrio. After three years in San Francisco, Puck sent Josh to France to further educate him on traditional French technique, where he worked at two Michelin three-star restaurants: the famed L’Arpège and Lucas Carton.

Upon returning to the States, Josh was ready to give New York a try. His career took a seminal turn when he began working with Rocco DiSpirito at the then New York Times three-star-rated Union Pacific. While working there, Josh also traveled around the world, going on eating trips throughout France, hunting for truffles, and cooking in Singapore. To round out his epicurean experiences, he worked with David Bouley, Charlie Trotter and Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Ready to run his own kitchen, Josh found a fitting home for his adventurous cuisine at Sumile. Before opening the restaurant in September 2003, he spent six weeks eating and cooking in Kyoto and Tokyo’s Shibuya-Ku neighborhood, cooking with regional ingredients and perfecting the nuances of traditional Japanese technique. Once back in the US, he searched for specialty importers to bring many of the ingredients he discovered in Japan to Sumile, recognizing that “The more special flavors I can find, the better equipped I am to make something spectacular.” Some of his most exclusive ingredients include fresh myoga, kinome (the leaves of the sansho pepper plant), fresh ramen imported directly from Japan and tonburi (not-so-commonly known as “field caviar”).

Josh is a 2005 StarChefs.com “New York Rising Star.” Currently he is busy (and sometimes exhausted) with the final stages of opening BarFry, his casual, Japanese tempura house in Greenwich Village.

Antoinette Bruno | 166 | Antoinette Bruno

Prosciutto di Parma-Wrapped Kampachi Chef Josh DeChellis of BarFry - New York, NY Adapted by StarChefs.com Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

5 ounces kampachi 16 thin slices Prosciutto di Parma 2 shallots ½ ounce mirin 1 ounce rice vinegar 1 ounce fresh yuzu juice 1 Thai long pepper 16 ¼-inch chive tips

Method:

Slice the piece of fish into ½-inch tiles. Lay 8 slices of the Prosciutto di Parma down on a tray and lay the slices of fish along it in neat rows. Lay the remaining Prosciutto di Parma over the top of the fish and lightly press with another tray. Slice the shallots into ¼-inch slices and soak in the mirin, vinegar, and yuzu juice. Char the pepper over an open flame and slice into very thin rounds, then add to the pickling shallots. Allow the fish to set in the fridge for 8 hours and then transfer to a serving plate. Remove the top layer of Prosciutto di Parma and finish each slice with a single shallot slice, a tiny round of pepper, and a chive tip.

feAtured ingredient: prosciutto di parma

| 167 | Host Chef